After a trophy-winning campaign in Florida, the Timbers returned to Portland Sunday evening to play their first home game since March. A familiar foe, the Seattle Sounders, returned as well to an anything but familiar Providence Park for the 108th meeting between the two sides.
Due to COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions, the Timbers Army and 25,000 plus that usually fill the seats of Providence Park were forced to leave the Timbers playing in an empty stadium. Missing from one of America’s best sports rivalries were the tifos, two-sticks, and visceral chants that make this Cascadia showdown so special.
Also missing on Sunday evening was a focused Timbers side on the field. The Timbers fell by a final score of 0-3 to their arch-rivals. The Timbers kept Seattle off the board until the 72nd minute when Raul Ruidiaz’s shot bounced in past keeper Steve Clark. After that, the Sounders never looked back and the Timbers never recovered. Ruidiaz struck again just nine minutes later after a Portland miscue in the back led to an easy finish, and a Kelvin Leerdam tap-in in the 85th minute slammed the door shut entirely on Portland’s homecoming.
The Timbers had chances of their own but could not capitalize. In the 5th minute Chris Duvall appeared to have put the Timbers up 1-0, but VAR erased the goal after a Timbers player was called offside in the buildup play leading to the goal. Diego Valeri, Jeremy Ebobisse, and Sebastian Blanco all had good looks at goal as the game progressed, but their efforts were unproductive in the end. The Timbers finished the night with 12 shots compared to Seattle’s 10.
So much was said of the organized Timbers defense in the MLS is Back Tournament, and for the first half of this match it seemed to hold true. The Sounders managed just one shot in the first 45 minutes of play, despite the absence of Dario Zuparic on the Timbers backline. Zuparic was out due to personal reasons but is expected back in Portland later this week. Also missing from the Timbers lineup was Yimmi Chara, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. The team is optimistic he will be able to return for their next match.
The Timbers will not have to linger too long on this loss as they fly down to San Jose for a Wednesday evening match-up against the Earthquakes. Chris Wondolowski and the rest of the Earthquakes caught the attention of many during their entertaining MLS is Back Tournament run and will not be an easy out for the Timbers. The match kicks off at 7:30 pm (PST) and will air locally on FOX 12 PLUS.
